Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-02-10
the water was exclusively carried on cam.
els backs, AID l. 500 OF these animals were
employed TO supply che single dock with

labs, which according to the convention
msde with the Ficeroy, were hired to the
number of from $1,000 to &C, eco, had soon
to be given up as useless. A little later
still England, wrapped up In her prudery,
played toward Suez precisely the part
which the opponents of the Panama Canal
nave assumed in the New World. She
/ endeavored to dissuade the capitalists, to
( show the impossibility of piercing the
Isthmus, to deny all the advantages
which tie new maritime road would open
to the commerce of the world; in one
word, 30 disparage By all possible means,
! the great work and the energetic worker
! But &c Lesseps rose above all his oppo,
nents, and his mar elous achievement at
the appointed tine confused them all.
! A Panama, We see, as in Egypt, q de.
serted country, but luXuriaat veseta'
| tiJa ard railroad which cuts the
| lstnmus in direct parallel to the lire
| Of the canal. What at SueZ was missing,
/ the water, is found at Panama pure and
| in great abundance instead Of sandy
plains, extensive and voIuminous rocks,
RS that OF the Cordilleras are to be deali
with and much more easily conquered
and disposed of. There it was necessary
to secure the most vital and important
commodities; here, the tropical regions
provide for the workers, and almost help
the progress Of the work. Towns,
villages with dwellings for the employers
and laborers, hospitals, ;wUrkshOps, etc ,
sprang up on the American IsthmuS in
two thirds less time than OF the Isthmus
of SueZ. In one year We're seated all
along the line Of the Panama Canal
numerous camps for workmen, the
extent and Importance OF which
can be readily imagined when We con-
slider that the buildings constructed by
the company, if placed on line fifteen
yards wide, would form street eight
miles long; and this does not include the
workshops for machineries, steam saw
mills, wharves, ship-constructing and
retitting docks near Colon, at Matachin
and at Panama. works at which nearly
1000 skilled workmep were employed
and for the construction OF which many
millions were expended. If we add to
this the choice of reliable contractors,
skillful engineers and the drawing to the
Isthmus all the necessary forces for the
work, we can form an idea OF this stu
pendous enterprise and truly say with
NJ. de Lesseps, that the preliminary ex-
penses are fully half of the work to be
accomplished. At this hour there are
but five crest enterprises in the
hands of five different contractors
which correspond with the five
sections of the whole. Each
section has task OF 100000 to 26,-
000,00 cubic meters, or in al l02 900, zoo
CUBIC meters of earthworks. In Egypt,
81, 100000 cubic meters were excavated
each year during the last two years OF
the Suez Cana construction; by al, cal
culatioHs, and from present appearances,
| there is no DOUBT whatever entertained
that the different sections will be carried
to a successful end at the appointed time,
1883. Because only 10000, 900, &c, GEO.,
900 or 2S, 000, 900 cubic meters were ex-
cayated at any given date out of total
required excavation of i02, 100000 cube
meters, the hostile press, howled on by
snort-sighted and weak-hearted engineers,
have been predicting failure, over
looking the important fact that, with
existing appliances, the work is simply
a question Of muscle power and steam
power, ard cannot be, properly speaking,
question Of engineering. The dema-
goguic argument often presented that, for
instance, it cost S50,00G,000 to remove
l0,00U,000 cubic meters, and that there
fore it will require ten times that amount
to excavate ten times that quantity of
material, is an imposition on ordinary in
telligence. A familiar analogy will illus
trate and show the fallacy of such mis-
leading assertion. The builder might as
well say: FNIy brick, lumber, plaster,
ETC., sufficient to build my $4,000 house
have already cost me 5000 and the walls
are only ten feet high; at this rate my
house will cost me $50, 1880" There is
hardly any need of pointing out where
the error lies. On the first of Jan
uarY last, the administration OF the canal
had at the disposal of the contractors and
engineers (by means of an annual ground
rent of | 0 per cent. on the value }, the fol-
lowing material: Forty drass, 159 ex-
tractors, Il engines, and wagons in pro
portion, 80 steamers, 4GS pumps, ZIG eX-
cavators, Isl heaters OF hammers, and
about AS miles of railroad tracks. These
figures, more eloquent than words, tndi-
cate the degree to which the work has
been pushed and the activity with which
it is pursued st this hour. The era of
preliminary works is, therefore, more
than past, and now the uctual and earn
ScI SuIliHSf WIN dppllduScS Vi IiS IaLSsJ
make end largest capacity, is being pros
ecuted.
If competitors mean to enter the arena,
they have no time to lose or they will be
left.
As to the financial success of the enter
prise, it can easily be calculated. Let US
suppose that tie sum required does not
exceed $500, 600, 900, and that the opening
of the canal takes place in little less
than three years, according to the reckon
ing OF the great engineer, traffic of
4,000,0 Of tons per year would suffice to
assure the interest at per cent. on the
capital engaged or invested; but NJ. de
Lesseps estimates the annual tonnage at
$500, 200, and he ought to know best, for
he is equally distinguished in both
finances and engineering. Id the case of
the Suez Canal his calculations were cor
rect to few thousand tons. Since
the 10th of December of last
year, the greatest activity reigns
on the Isthmus. The brains and the mus
Giles pull together and work for all they
are worth. Heavy boring machines,
powerful drags, powder, dynamite, etc,
clear away thousands of cubic meters per
day. At the beginning of this year, be-
fore the formation of the great societies
of contractors, 2S,OOO,0O0 cubic meters,